E. coli outbreak linked to Romaine lettuce sold in eastern U.S.

An Ohio food distributor has announced a massive recall on Romaine lettuce that’s contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

At least 19 people have been confirmed with cases of E. coli poisoning in Michigan, Ohio and New York. A dozen of those cases required hospitalization, and three have developed a potentially fatal condition known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

The recall is being announced by Freshway Foods, of Sidney, Ohio. The shredded Romaine lettuce was sold to wholesalers, food service outlets and to some in-store salad bars in the following states: Alabama, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The recalled lettuce products have a “Best if Used By” date of May 12 or earlier. Freshway Foods is advising restaurants, distributors and retailers to discard any shredded Romaine lettuce from Freshway Foods, and not to eat any “Grab and Go” salads sold at Kroger, Giant Eagle, Ingles Markets and Marsh stores.

The lettuce consumed by people where illnesses have been reported were traced to the same processing facility, presumably in Yuma, Ariz.